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Editor’s Earlier Commentary & Comments on the Record
One day after David Walker’s formal departure from GAO, a House subcommittee is set to blast the pay system that represents the former comptroller general’s signature managerial change within the agency. “We’re definitely repudiating what he did,” a subcommittee staffer said of Walker’s efforts to overhaul pay and personnel systems at the congressional auditing agency.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Federal Workforce Subcommittee plans a hearing Thursday on several bills affecting GAO. Among them is a measure that Federal Workforce Subcommittee Chairman Danny Davis, D-Ill., plans to introduce that would grant retroactive cost-of-living increases to hundreds of GAO employees who did not receive one in the last two years.
Comment: Comptroller GENERAL David Walker lost the respect of his troops (workforce) after claiming to be a human capital expert and then breaking his word that he would protect the purchasing power of the salaries of all staff that performed satisfactorily. This human capital guru also instituted a highly competitive, zero-sum, forced ranking pay-for-peformance system that pitted once collegial teammates against each other for a shrinking bonus pie. When Walker denied annual cost-of-living adjustments to his most experienced staff in 2006 and 2007, he fomented a velvet revolution within the GAO. Staff rose up, banded together, fought back in court and Congress, forming a union to protect themselves from the PFP poison pills he and the Bush Administation have been trying to stuff down the throats of America’s civil servants - Justice@GAO, Posted March 14, 2008 5:04 PM
The agreement is likely to please many House lawmakers, who sent a letter to Comptroller General David M. Walker on Jan. 30, calling for parity in pay adjustments between GAO and the rest of the federal government. “GAO employees are no less valued than their counterparts in the federal workforce, and we believe they should be included in the rest of the federal workforce when it comes to parity,” the lawmakers wrote. “Denying GAO employees the congressionally approved pay adjustment of 4.49 percent for 2008 would weaken pay comparability within the federal sector and the private sector.” Many analysts indicated on Monday that the agreement was a good first step to ensuring what they call “pay justice” at GAO. In 2006 and 2007, Walker reassigned 800 of 1,200 senior analysts to a lower pay category and froze pay increases for hundreds of employees, arguing that a 2004 study conducted by consulting firm Watson Wyatt determined that many GAO analysts were paid above market levels. Dissatisfaction over the pay changes was one of the major driving factors behind unionization at the agency. The pay restructuring also has come under harsh criticism from many lawmakers and other human capital experts. “The agreement is one inch back toward pay justice, but does not constitute complete pay justice,” said Robert Kershaw, a senior analyst who joined GAO in the 1970s. “We still have a long ways to go to make restitution.”
In September, employees voted to have the first-ever union at the agency. The fact that Members kept an eye on the proceeding helped the effort, said GAO analyst Robert Kershaw, who now sits on the new union’s interim board.
“I can’t praise enough Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” Kershaw said, later adding: “Some of the counterproductive effects of GAO human capital reforms were exposed this year to the public through the effort of Democrats.”
Regardless of whether Walker’s personnel reforms had merit, however, many employees had felt betrayed and unappreciated for their work, says Robert Kershaw, a senior analyst who joined GAO in the 1970s. But what had begun as an effort involving many senior employees like Kershaw eventually evolved into an organizing campaign involving all analysts as a result of a July 18 agreement between IFPTE and attorneys representing GAO.
“This is a great and historic day for GAO,” said Robert Kershaw, a senior analyst who voted in favor of the union. “We need to restructure the incentives in this agency so that the talents and gifts of each employee are utilized to the maximum.”
GAO Analysts Perform the Basic Work of the Agency and Deserve to Be Full and Equal Partners with GAO Management…
Kershaw, who joined GAO in the 1970s, said he hopes having representation will help restore some past benefits, including an annual art show and an employee newspaper. But most important, he said, would be the opportunity for certain employees to work with congressional committees, an authority that was taken away by former Comptroller General Charles Bowsher. Currently, only senior executives are able to meet with congressional staff.
“Earlier in my career, it was OK for staff at all levels of GAO to interact with congressional staff,” Kershaw said. “That’s the way they understood what the requester wanted, and the quality of work was much better. The staff felt more a part of the team.”
On Sunday, Kershaw and a group of GAO analysts launched a Web site for employees to discuss unionization issues.
Government Accountability Office (GAO) employees voted to form a labor union Wednesday, electing the first guild in the agency’s 86-year history. “GAO’s analysts banded together to help restore GAO’s greatness. We declared our independence,” Robert Kershaw, a senior analyst who voted in favor of the union, said. Analysts voted 897-445 for a union to be represented by the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE), a national organization representing local unions.
On Wednesday, employee excitement was clear: Two guards stood outside the polling room, warding off any media or outside parties. Just a few floors up, senior analyst Robert Kershaw greeted coworkers in the hallways and excitedly chatted about the outcome of the vote.
On Sunday, Kershaw started a Web site, gaounion.net, for employees to discuss the future of the union. The site … is structured like a blog with videos and subjects for visitors to comment on. All this is in preparation for a successful vote, after which IFPTE will hand over control to GAO employees.
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Walker & Kershaw Exchanges over Promised COLAs for GAO Staff: Comptroller General David Walker and GAO Analyst Robert Kershaw had a face-to-face exchange at the July 25, 2007 CG Town Hall Forum followed by four subsequent letters about whether the Comptroller General fulfilled his stated promises to protect GAO staff salaries from inflation by providing all staff with “meets expectations” or better ratings a full COLA
- September 14, 2007 - CG final rejoinder to Kershaw (stating he did not commit to measure inflation using the CPI, and preferred using the core PCE price index) Note: CG Walker, in his prepared statements to congressional committees advocating enactment of GAO’s own Human Capital (HCII) legislative proposal (GAO-03-1024T, p. 29; and GAO-03-1167T, p. 79) explicitly referred the Consumer Price Index as a means of protecting purchasing power: Under its human capital proposal, GAO proposes to decouple itself from the executive branch for base and locality pay adjustments after a 2 plus year transition period. After the transition period, GAO will fully implement a modified pay system in which absent extraordinary economic conditions or serious budgetary constraints, all GAO staff rated as performing at a satisfactory level (i.e., meeting expectations or higher) can expect to receive at a minimum an annual adjustment designed to protect purchasing power (e.g., the Consumer Price Index) and address differences in compensation ranges by localities. In addition, all such staff will continue to be eligible for performance-based merit pay increases, performance bonuses (if pay capped)/dividends, and incentive awards. Before finalizing and mplementing a modified pay system, GAO will seek the advice of the managing directors and GAO’s Employee Advisory Council. We will also draft revised pay regulations and publish them for review and comment by all employees.
GAOUnion.org Editor
